


Career Day

by 616bucky, WinterHoneybee



Category: Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Much To Think About, Pining, RJ is a little shit, a mess, cheesy dates, lit rally a mess, single dads, uhhhhh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-03-29 10:34:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19018150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/616bucky/pseuds/616bucky, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterHoneybee/pseuds/WinterHoneybee
Summary: Single dads! AU in which both Bucky Barnes and Tony Stark are single parents who meet through an unfortunate incident.





	1. Chapter 1

“Get up! Get UP!” a tiny voice shouted, as Bucky felt a weight on his stomach, tiny fists pounding at his chest. 

 

Bucky opens his eyes slowly, greeted with the sight of the child pulling at his hair, swatting lightly as to keep the child away from his hair. 

 

“What do you want?” Bucky asks, as he clears his throat, holding the small child in his arms, as he props himself up, “Wha’s happening, RJ?”

 

“School!” RJ exclaims impatiently, as he plops down on the older man, causing Bucky to oomph, as the child crosses his arms, “I promised Petey that I’d be there early so he can show me his spider!”

 

Bucky shivers at the mention of the spider, as he sighs, combing his hair with his fingers. He could vaguely remember something about RJ mentioning that he had to see a friend before school hours, but hadn’t thought much of it, much less set an alarm for such an event. He swings his legs over the edge of the bed, carrying the small child in his arms, as he heaves, before standing up.

 

“Gremlin.” He mutters, as he kisses RJ’s forehead, who squirms away, furrowing his brows.

 

“‘M not a gremlin!” RJ screams, as he makes his best monster face, hands clawing outwards, as he pouts, “If I’m gremlin, you’re a king gremlin!”

 

Bucky tilts his head in mock confusion, as he gives a small smile, bouncing RJ lightly, as he tweaks RJ’s nose playfully, the two making their way into the kitchen, “So what are you? First you say you’re a gremlin, then you say that you’re not. Gotta choose, buddy.”

 

“‘M gonna be a gremlin with you!” RJ says, patting Bucky’s shoulder, a smug grin plastered on his face, “Y’ gotta be a gremlin with me!”

 

“Then gremlin it is.” Bucky says, as they both make identical monster faces, setting RJ on the counter (safely), shoving a bagel in his mouth, as he picks up two boxes of cereal, displaying it to the younger child, “Which one?”

 

“Bird.” RJ says, as he points towards the bright red box with the toucan displayed on the front, as Bucky laughs, “I want bird.”

 

“You got it.” Bucky says, despite the bagel in his mouth,  as he places RJ into a chair at the table, sliding the bowl of cereal in front of him.

 

“D’you think that the spider is a big one?” RJ asks, as Bucky sits into the chair next to him, smiling.

 

“You won’t know until you see, right?” Bucky asks, as RJ swings his legs anxiously, tucking into his cereal.

 

“Do you think it’s gonna be hairy too?” RJ asks, as Bucky repeats his answer, desperately trying to style RJ’s hair for the upcoming school day, “With thirty eyes?”

 

“Well, I’m not so sure about the thirty eyes part, bud.” Bucky responds, as he laughs, “They’ve got at most eight, remember? Eyes come in pairs, buddy.”

 

“Then what about Cycles?” RJ asks, as he furrows his brows in confusion, pointing to the area in between his eyes, “They’ve only got one!”

 

“Cyclops,” Bucky corrects gently, as he scrunches his nose. “They’re the exception, I think. Everyone else has eyes that come in pairs.”

 

“That sucks.” RJ pouts, as he glances at the clock, before jumping onto the chair, pointing and screaming, “It’s eight and six! We gotta go, we gotta go! Or else we’re gonna be late!”

 

“Give me five minutes to get ready, alright?” Bucky asks, as RJ huffs, crossing his arms across his chest, “Gotta look somewhat presentable if we’re gonna go see your friend and his spider, right?”

 

“Fine.” RJ says, puffing his cheeks out, as he holds up five tiny fingers, shooing Bucky away.

 

***

 

“You sure your friend’s here, Peteybird?” Tony asks, as he turns around in his seat, one hand still on the steering wheel, lifting his sunglasses up.

 

Peter nods, clutching the glass jar containing the tarantula, a small, hopeful smile on his face.

 

“Karen strapped in alright?” Tony asks, as Peter looks down at the spider, sticking his tongue out at the spider, clutching onto the jar tightly.

 

“Yeah!” Peter says, as he smiles, before staring out the window eagerly, awaiting his friend.

 

After a short while, Tony points towards the playground, turning Peter’s attention to the small child swinging wildly on one of the swings, “‘s that him?”

 

Peter perks up, as he nods, moving to climb out of the car, before Tony had stopped him.

 

“Have fun at school and stay safe, alright?” Tony asks, as Peter nods, before leaning forward and kissing his father in the cheek, smiling, “Don’t let Karen out of her jar, alright? Not really looking to another phone call, Peteybird.”

 

Peter gives a small smile, as he nods, holding the jar tightly, “Are you gonna set Karen on the prin-principal again?”

 

Tony laughs, as he holds a finger to his lips, causing Peter to giggle, “Maybe... but let’s try to prevent that from happening, yeah?”

 

“Mkay.” Peter simply says, as he climbs out of the car, waving as he walked off to a reasonable distance before he started sprinting towards the playground, waving the jar in the air frantically.

Tony smiles, watching the two children scream and jump back in delight at the concept of the giant spider in the jar, before reaching over, shuffling through various papers, waiting for the rest of the students of the preschool to arrive. 


	2. Chapter 2

               “Alright, a deal’s a deal, hand it over,” Tony states, giving a smile as he holds his hands out expectantly towards the child holding onto the spider jar, puffing his cheeks out, adamant in keeping it, “Peter promised that Karen would only be out before this he—I mean school started and I have to go to work in a bit."

 

               “I won’t!” The child shouted, as he glares at the older man, only clutching onto the glass jar tighter, “I’m ‘dopting Karen! You’re old enough to be like… Karen’s grandpa! ‘M gonna protect Karen!”

 

               Tony cocks his head to the side, eyebrow raised, as he narrows his eyes, the child doing the same, “What makes you think I’m gonna hurt Karen, kid?”

 

               “I am NOT a kid!” The child shouted, as Tony drops to one knee slowly, so they could see eye-to-eye, trying his best to hide a grin.

 

               “Alright then,” Tony says simply, as the child looks at him in shock, as though surprised that Tony had given in that easily, “What’s your name?”

 

               “RJ,” the kid says, before breaking out into a small smile, sticking out a pudgy hand, turning to look at his other arm, making sure the spider jar was secure before turning back to Tony, “But you can call me Prince Gremlin!”

 

               Tony gives a small chuckle, as he takes RJ’s hand lightly, moving it back down to the boy’s side, “Handshakes are for businessperson, Gremlin. ‘M not really a business person, and neither is a prince, so let’s drop that.

              

               “Then you gotta kneel for me.” RJ says, as he pouts, as he sniffs, nose high in the air, “Everyone’s gotta bow down to the prince!”

              

               “I’m already kneeling though.” Tony points out, as RJ glares at him, despite the giggle coming out of the little boy.

 

               “Then with both knees!” RJ says adamantly, as Tony laughs, getting down on the other knee as well, holding out his hands for the spider jar. RJ reluctantly hovers the jar over Tony’s open palms, before sighting dramatically, as he places the jar in Tony’s hands, before running away without as much as a good-bye.

 

***

 

“I met someone that looked like he could be my dad!” RJ screamed, unaware that he was talking over the teacher, as he hung onto the leg of Bucky’s jeans tightly, a giddy smile on his face, “Y’ gotta marry him! You’ve been single since ages and ages ago!”

               Bucky stared down, scrunching his nose as he held a finger to his lips, before staring at the teacher once more, as RJ balled his hands into fists, attacking Bucky’s leg, whining.

               Needless to say, Bucky didn’t even glance down once while the teacher was explaining about what they were about to do for the day.

 

**

 

               “Everything’s fine, honey bear,” Tony says, as he scrunches his nose, making sure to press the phone closer to his ear, as he makes his way through the repair shop as well as the waiting room, walking up the staircase shoved to the side of the waiting room, sighing as it creaked underneath him, “I mean, Peter’s excited about school, which is a first. Says he’s got a new friend and everything, ‘s like he never lived in the big city to begin with.”

 

               “Yeah, well, little kids are like that, Tones. They’re like rubber balls, you throw something at them and they’ll bounce right back,” Rhodey snorts, as he pauses for a moment before asking, “But that’s not what I was asking, I was asking if you were alright.”

 

               Tony shrugs, as he stands atop of the staircase, thinking. Peter was alright, and that was all that mattered, wasn’t it?

 

               “I guess it’s alright,” Tony says finally, “It’ll take some getting used to, that’s for sure, the neighbors probably dug more up on me than I know about myself. That’s how small towns usually work, right? You’ll be grocery shopping for the first time and then next thing you know the cashier is going to start prattling off random information about you? ‘M telling you know, it’s gonna happen sooner or later.”

 

              

 

               Tony taps the side of the jar hesitantly, as Karen puts a singular, hairy leg where Tony’s finger had been previously, before Tony breaks out into a smile.

 

               “Let’s get you to where you belong, yeah?” Tony asks, humming to himself as he makes busy with Karen’s daily routine, putting the spider into the larger tank located in Peter’s room. Karen tumbles around, before scurrying back and forth across the tank happily, Tony trying his best to avoid the spider’s path as he refilled both the food and water dispenser for her, meant to last the entire day. As Karen made busy with food, Tony gives a shudder, the worst task saved for last.

 

               Poop.

 

               He reaches over for the tiny scoop, trying his best not to gag as he cleaned the spider’s waste.

 

               After a quick brunch, Tony finds himself in the repair shop, rolled underneath a car, as he begins to change the car’s oil, furrowing his brows in concentration. It seemed odd, the fact that they would come in for something as trivial as an oil change, but Tony wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to make more money, after all. With Peter only growing older (and increasingly more demanding, though Tony couldn’t fault him for being that way, not when he had been the same as well), there was only so much time he could save up before the bigger things in life came.

 

               Tony sighs, as he cuts his train of thoughts off there, dipping a finger in the new bottle of oil, before he focuses on changing the oil of the car.

 

               There wasn’t any point in worrying about the future just yet, not when there were still things to do in the present.

 

 ***

 

               “How are things?” Sharon had asked, as Bucky had held the phone with his shoulder, holding a finger up, signaling that he would be back to the conversation in a few moments, combing through his hair with his fingers absentmindedly.

 

               It was another customer, looking to find another home, the details flying over his head as the customer continued to prattle on about this and that. He furrows his eyebrows, as the person began to talk about vegan-friendly products. Furniture and products weren’t really Bucky’s strong suit, weren’t they supposed to buy furniture and products on their own anyhow? But then again, it wasn’t as though he had a preference, seeing as RJ was in charge of that, the bottles in their bathroom decorated with superheroes…

              

               He had failed to notice that the customer had hung up, blinking uncertainly, before putting the phone down, turning to Sharon, eyebrow raised.

 

               “Everything’s alright, all things considered, have been for a while now,” Bucky says, as he took out his phone once more, furrowing his brows as he held the screen close to his face, scrolling through his gallery, “You wanna see what RJ made the other day?”

 

               “Nothing too chaotic, right?” Sharon asks, as she sighs fondly, as she lays back leisurely, Bucky laughing at the same time, before pulling up the photo. Sharon nearly falls off of the chair, her eyes widening, before she erupts into laughter, as she stares at the photo once more.

 

               “And what made you think that building a volcano would be alright?” She asks, as Bucky smiles fondly at the photo once again, before turning his phone off, putting it back into his pocket as he takes out a stack of paperwork, shrugging his shoulders.

 

               “Science helps the mind and all of that sort of thing, right?” He asks, as Sharon raises an eyebrow, smiling in amusement, “At least, that’s what RJ tried to say. Couldn’t really see the big deal as to why not, so we did. Didn’t realize it was a mistake to put about an entire cup of baking soda and vinegar each.”

 

               “The two of you are lawless, Barnes,” Sharon comments, as she gives another laugh, taking out her stack of paperwork as well, “Absolutely lawless.”

 

 ***

               “Can I go home now?” RJ asks, as he points towards Bucky waiting amongst the line of parents, puffing his cheeks out as he stared up at his teacher in determination. He wanted out. And soon. “He’s right there!”

 

               “Not just yet, remember?” the teacher says, a small smile coming to her lips, as she crouches down to get on eye-level with the child, holding a finger to her lips, “Remember the secret plan? You have to tell your dad about the special day, don’t you?”

 

               “No.” RJ says stubbornly, waiting a moment before he explained himself, “Y’gotta forget the secret plan, that way it stays a secret!”

 

               RJ shuffles his feet, staring down at the ground before staring back up at the teacher, hopeful, “So can I go now?”

 

               “No.”

 

               RJ pouts.

 

               The teacher wavers.

 

               “Fine,” She says, as RJ breaks out into a toothy grin, flouncing towards the door already, as she calls after him, “But only because it’s time for everyone to go anyways, do you understand?”

 

               RJ holds the neon paper, waving it in the air to show the teacher that he would indeed, show Bucky the news, as he collides into him, hugging his father’s legs tightly.

 

***

               “I know things are still fairly new, Mr.Stark,” The teacher says, as she hands Tony a sheet of brightly decorated paper, Peter following after her, before flinging himself at Tony, hiding within his pant leg, clinging tightly, “But this would be a nice opportunity to get to know the community better, it’s a hit every year amongst the kids.”

 

               Tony glances down at the paper, as he raises an eyebrow, before asking, “Anything I should prepare in advance? I don’t have to feed the kids or anything like that, right? Allergies and all of that, ‘s a big mess anyway.”

 

               “Anything that you see fit and easy for five-year olds to engage and enjoy,” the teacher responds, as she smiles, “After all, it’s your profession, it’s something that you’d know best.”

 

***

 

_PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR ANNUAL CAREER DAY ASSEMBLY_

_AT APPLE VALLEY PRESCHOOL_

_Date: November 15 th (NEXT FRIDAY!)_

_Time: 9AM-11AM_

_Parents wishing to participate must fill out the attached form and return it no later than November 13 th._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We rough streaks....

**Author's Note:**

> this was ROUGH I AM SO SORRY.... hopefully as the plot moves the chapters will get better!! But... have some soft/fluff for now uwu alkjrlgkdjfk


End file.
